PRO FOOTBALL

PRO FOOTBALL; Tupa Punts And Jets Zero In On Sanders

By GERALD ESKENAZI

Published: December 17, 1999

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Dec. 16—
Tom Tupa's leg has healed, and the Jets' punter has such supreme confidence in both his leg and his teammates that he said he would not kick the ball away from Deion Sanders on Sunday.

Tupa and the rest of the Jets will have to stop Sanders, the Cowboys' versatile cornerback, receiver and perhaps the most-famed punt returner in recent National Football League history.

But except for what Tupa described today as ''some wrinkles we'll throw in,'' he plans simply to punt the ball as high and as far as he can. If he does what he has done so well for most of this season, the Jets' defenders should have enough time to corral Sanders.

''If I get a quality punt, then the guys will be there,'' Tupa said confidently.

Tupa had been bothered for the last three games with a hamstring pull in his right leg. The injury lowered both his net average and overall average. Still, his average of 45.2 yards a punt is one-tenth of a yard away from the finest season in Jets history. That came in 1965, when Curley Johnson was the punter.

The Jets' kicking game has become critical this season as Ray Lucas has learned about quarterbacking on the job. Until the last two weeks, when Lucas threw for a total of six touchdowns, the Jets had not been scoring a lot. In fact, the team still has not scored 30 points in a game this year.

So Tupa's booming punts -- he ranks third in the American Football Conference -- have kept the opposition pinned back. ''When I came into the league with New England,'' Tupa said, ''Bill Parcells told me: 'I don't care what you punt. I just want the average higher than the other teams' punters.' ''

Now, Sanders represents an unusual opponent. His average punt return, 12 yards, puts him third in the National Football Conference. He has scored a touchdown on a return and also produced a 76-yard return against the Giants.

''He's the fastest guy I've ever seen,'' said his former teammate, Omar Stoutmire a defensive back who had been a Cowboys starter and is now the Jets' free safety. Stoutmire will actually be playing against Sanders occasionally on Sunday; Sanders lined up as a wide receiver last week, and his coach, Chan Gailey, said he would do it again.

The first Jet chasing the returner is Chris Hayes, the club's top special teams tackler. Hayes has downed three punts inside the 5-yard line, playing what is known as the ''gunner'' role.

''His first move once he catches the ball is very dangerous,'' Hayes said about Sanders. ''I see none quicker in the league.''

So what will Hayes do? Wait for Sanders to make the first move?

''No, I'll slow him down with my best shot,'' Hayes said. ''You can't wait to react. I don't think we'll punt away from him. We'll take the challenge.''

Hayes wants to make sure he does not give Sanders room to return a kick along the sidelines. So when he is bearing down on Sanders, he will try not to leave a lane along the outside. It is a difficult juggling act.

Even Parcells dismissed the possibility of punting away from Sanders.

''Some do,'' the coach said. ''But when you start directional punting, you might be sacrificing yards.''

Bernie Parmalee, a shifty runner himself, is one of the faster Jets who chase the punt returner. He knows about one of Sanders's tricks.

''He takes the ball and holds it out there, not tucked away,'' Parmalee said. ''If you see a guy with the ball out like that, you go for the ball rather than the tackle. That gives him a chance to put on his moves.''

Dwayne Gordon, a linebacker and another important special teams player, describes Sanders as aware of the field, using his dangerous first move to get clear of a swarm of tacklers.

Tupa was not volunteering information, of course, but he did admit that the Jets would ''do something to limit his big plays.''

EXTRA POINTS

VINNY TESTAVERDE continued his daily rehabilitation program Thursday following his Achilles' tendon surgery. But his days have grown longer because his mother, JOSIE, is in intensive care following surgery over the weekend for a serious infection. The quarterback's father died last winter. . . . JASON FERGUSON, the nose tackle who was suspended for four games for using a banned substance, will return to the club next Tuesday. . . . JUMBO ELLIOTT will be arraigned next week on a misdemeanor charge stemming from a bar fight over the summer.